“My little Dorking girl is very sweet and loves to cuddle. She is not the best layer, but this girl IS the best winter layer! Most so called winter layers only lay in the first winter with a significantly lower number of eggs, but my Dorking is 1.5 year old and still lays 5 eggs per week in winter (and other time of year too). I do not use artificial light, but short day light hours didn't slow her down at all. She went broody and molted in summer, before any other chicken, and started to lay in late September. Dorking is a really great backyard chicken for a small flock of pets.”
“Lady D was the shyest, sweetest, most docile bird we've had. She was SUCH a good layer, and went a bit broody, but even that she handled kindly and easily let us come and get the clutch of eggs she'd been sitting on all day. She was last on the pecking order, but oddly, didn't seem to mind. She was just content and made tiny sweet noises. She was loved, until Mama Fox came. So grateful for the time we had with her, and her sweet little white eggs.”
“We love our Dorking, Hattie. She‚Äôs the loudest hen EVER when she sees a human; a shameless, shameless beggar! She‚Äôs friendly, curious, lays long white eggs and surprised us all when she became top hen. She‚Äôs a constant clucker, keeping up a quiet, running commentary (with questions) whenever she‚Äôs actively seeking food. She‚Äôs very large, with an unusual conformation compared to our other hens: she‚Äôs wide and low-slung, and when she settles to the ground, she really settles - like a pudding spreading out in all directions. She has 5 toes, lots of personality, and a comb that grew so much we changed the meaning of her name from short for Mata Hari (look up duckling photos) to short for Sunday-Go-To-Church-Hat! Not our most prolific, but definitely everyone‚Äôs favorite.”
“I was a little skeptical on getting one of these, I thought maybe she wouldn't be as pretty as I expected but I wanted to support the breed and think they are unique. However, I was wrong because she is absolutely gorgeous and built solid like a little tank and extremely friendly. She follows me around and I can pick her up and cuddle her with no fight. My 6 year old loves her because she can cuddle her too. Her personality is great and her feathers are very vibrant. These definitely made the favorite breed list.”
“I ordered two SGD chicks this Spring and both were sweet and docile and ‚Äúhuman focused‚Äù from the get-go. I sadly lost one (along with all of my Easter eggers ) to a predator last week but am so grateful for the one who survived. If I sit down on the ground, she climbs into my lap to be petted and fussed over like a puppy. She follows me around the chicken yard and ‚Äúcries‚Äù when I leave. I will be repopulating my flock with more of these exceptionally sweet and affectionate birds!!”
“I have 3 hens and 1 rooster Silver Gray Dorking. The rooster is one of the calmest I have ever had in my flock, and I have had many different roosters over the years. The hens have the softest coloring and such gentle personalities! They are always nearby if not on top of my feet when I am outside. They also handle the humid southern heat very well and don't mind being confined.”
“I've never had chickens before in my life, so I had NO idea what on earth to expect. A friend casually mentioned dorkings to me as both a multi-purpose bird, and that they're a heritage breed that's very friendly.
So, I placed my order in February last year for an August delivery, and then counted down the months!
I placed an order for 7 birds, anticipating a loss at some point; which did happen (MY fault entirely; thought my brooder was in a safe space, but my dachshund proved otherwise, so I lost 1 bird).
I have had 6 healthy chickens for almost a year now, and can attest that they are everything I was told, and more. They are very friendly and tolerant (I have an almost-5-year-old who ADORES our chickens and is constantly picking them up and handling them). Mine are kept confined from Sunday through Friday, sometimes Saturday, and they lay quite well. I would say I'm getting, on average, 4 eggs daily from 6 birds (some days I get 6 eggs, some days just 1 or 2).
Mine did seem a little slow to start laying, but after having spoken with other dorking owners, it seems that, as a heritage breed, they can take a few additional weeks to start egg production, as compared to other breeds. Don't let that concern you!
In so far as eggs go, they are consistently medium sized with a rare large thrown in, so it does take a few more eggs for an omelet, but the taste is amazing.
If/when we finally put one in the freezer, I'll update on the meat quality, but again, everything I've read says in a blind taste test, dorking is the way to go!”
